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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · key · scale · fork · last · pop · spell · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. key — for a lock
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. key — in music
  7. last — final
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — magic
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pop — to visit
  14. scale — size or range
  15. key — the most important part
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. scale — in music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fork — to eat with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com